Pryce critical of Broncos

Aaron Wilson

08/01/2006

The Denver Broncos cut defensive tackle Trevor Pryce in the off-season. Now with the Baltimore Ravens, Pryce recently spoke out about his final year with Denver.

Trevor Pryce definitely doesn't miss the Denver Broncos, who cut the four-time Pro Bowl defensive end after last season
because of salary-cap reasons. Pryce often clashed with Broncos coach
Mike
Shanahan toward the end of his nine-year tenure in Denver.

"I came from something that could get pretty hairy at times," said
Pryce,
who signed a five-year, $25 million contract with Baltimore in March.

"I had
to make all the plays. If I didn't, I was wrong, that type of thing.
For the
first time in a long time, I feel like I'm happy to be playing
football.

"The way the coaches and everybody is the same here it's not an 'us
versus
them' mentality between the players and the coaches where you do
something
wrong and you know there's going to be hell to pay. The coaches, I
think,
want to help you and they feel part of it, too. They might feel
pressure for
their jobs like we do, so it's a little bit different."

Pryce remains bitter about how he was utilized in his final season in
Denver
when he often dropped back into coverage on third downs instead of
rushing
the passer. He was limited to four sacks after recording 59 during his
first
eight seasons in Denver.

"I'm actually going to be put in a position to try to make a play
instead of
the blocking dummies of a defensive line that we became last year in
Denver," Pryce said. "Somebody said I had 10 tackles for losses and
50-some
pressures. It doesn't matter. I was released anyway."